Girls soccer: Naperville North defeats Naperville Central in second OT
Many consider the No. 13 to be synonymous with bad luck, while the same people consider No. 7 to be a lucky number.
Naperville North sophomore Hannah Martin couldn't care less about numbers so long as the Huskies outscore their opponents.
Wearing No. 13, Martin broke a 1-1 tie in the second overtime of Tuesday's Class 3A Plainfield North sectional semifinal to lift the Huskies to a thrilling 2-1 victory.
It was game-winning goal No. 7 on the season for Martin and obviously the biggest of her spring. It allows the Huskies to advance to Friday's sectional championship game against Neuqua Valley.
"It was a big thing to finish it and not go to penalty kicks where it comes down to luck sometimes," Martin said. "It was nice to get a goal late in the second overtime and grind it out."
Martin connected less than two minutes into the second overtime.
"I tried to cut around (a defender)," she said. "I knew I couldn't go end line and get a goal so I was looking for that back corner because the goalie was coming up. I'm thankful it hit the back of the net there. It was where I was aiming."
She acknowledged that she didn't play her best game but was still able to deliver when it mattered most.
"At the end of the day in overtime, I happened to beat one girl and get the shot that sealed the deal for us," she said. "Which was great."
Naperville North (18-3-4) probably had the better run of play in the first half and resulted in the Huskies taking a 1-0 lead at halftime when Shaina Dudas scored on a little back-and-forth pass action from Paige Sylvester with 11:21 remaining before the break.
Naperville Central (11-13-1) fought back in the second half, similar to when it rallied from three deficits during a 4-3 loss to the Huskies on May 1.
"Our second half was as competitive as we've played," Redhawks coach Ed Watson said. "I just feel really bad because we ran out of opportunities. And North is a good team and there was going to be a good team lose and I was kind of hoping it would be them, but it was the Redhawks."
Watson was particularly pleased with the performance of junior Abbey Hillman and freshman Sullivan Schubel, and also praised the entire team's toughness.
"This group has had a lot of adversity and it's just a resilient group," he said. "(Abbey) was outstanding today and she's been great all year long, and without disrespecting any of our players, we had a freshman (Schubel) play center back today and she never even practiced it and she was fantastic for us."
Maddie Mills scored on a header off Jessica Sonner's corner kick, similar to how the Redhawks won their regional semifinal against Oswego East with 27:17 left in the second half to tie the game at 1-1. The Redhawks created some other chances and controlled possession but had to settle for overtime.
"They just came out and were better than us in the second half," Huskies coach Steve Goletz said. "I think we panicked as a group and didn't do a good job of clearing balls, holding balls, connecting. We didn't do a great job of much in the second half, but a credit to the girls for finding a way."